Tractor Crossing

Levering resident Dan Schmalzried is planning to drive his 1940 John Deere A across the Mackinac Bridge this week.

And his will be one of an estimated 600 antique tractors making the trek during the Owosso Tractor Parts and Equipment Antique Tractor Parade and Show starting at noon Friday, Sept. 12.

"I'm ready - we can go tomorrow," he said. " … Not only is it going to be the biggest, the longest (parade), it's happening on a piece of history."

Event sponsor Bob Baumgras said he got the idea for the parade from other special trips made across the bridge. He starting making some contacts and organizing the event, with help from some Northern Michigan residents.

The event begins with a 200-tractor parade at noon Friday in Mackinaw City. The parade will weave its way through the village, making a loop from Nicolet to Mackinaw Crossings Drive to Huron to Central Avenue and back to Nicolet.

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From there, the parade will proceed to the bridge, where 400 more tractors will join them across the bridge to Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace, where there will be a tractor show throughout the weekend.

"The largest tractor parade I've heard of was in California with 275 tractors," Baumgras said, adding that there was another around this size in the South. " … It'll dwarf those parades."

He noted the tractors must go at least 10 mph and be from 1961 or before to make the 20-mile trip. Twenty-eight tractor clubs will be involved, including some from out of state.

Cheboygan resident Ed Socolovitch was named grand marshal, and RFD-TV's Max Armstrong will be at the event. The event is to be filmed for the RFD-TV show, "This Week in Agribusiness," Baumgras said.

Mackinac Bridge Authority bridge services manager Dean Steiner said while no lanes will be closed for the crossing, the tractors will be traveling in the right-hand northbound lane.

"This lane won't be coned off or anything like that, but (600) tractors - it's going to be a solid line from one side to the other," he noted.

The trip is estimated to take two hours. Southbound traffic will not be affected by the parade.